This is how prof Maarten Kamper of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering described the first prize he and his PhD student Johannes Potgieter received for their article on a novel type of wind generator at an international conference recently.

The Electrical Machines Committee (EMS) under the Industry Applications Society (IAS) of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) made this award at the IEEE’s international Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE) held in Denver, Colorado. This year some 1 300 delegates attended the IEEE’s flagship conference.

The article award, first prize, was awarded for the technical competence displayed in the article, Optimum design and technology evaluation of slip permanent magnet generators for wind energy applications, that was presented at the ECCE conference in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2012. (At ECCE conferences articles are evaluated after the conference, with prizes being awarded at the following year’s conference.)

The winning article dealt with the optimum design and evaluation of a component of a new type of slip-synchronous permanent magnet wind generator. Their first publication on this subject appeared in 2010.

“This new type of wind generator differs from the conventional kind in this respect that it does not need a gearbox or a power electronic converter. There are great advantages attached to the absence of a gearbox and power electronic converter as this improves the reliability and the life cycle cost of the wind generator. We have been working on this concept since 2009,” says Johannes Potgieter.

This unique system has already been tested on the SA research base in Antarctica where it performed well. At present two 15 kW prototypes are being tested at a wind turbine testing facility at Mariendahl, one of Stellenbosch University’s experimental farms. The power generated by these generators is utilised by the farm.

The technology has been patented and a spin-out company, SWET (Stellenbosch Wind Energy Technology), has been established to commercialise the technology. The main shareholders of SWET are InnovUS and the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA).

Photograph:
The wind turbine testing facility at Mariendahl.

Photograph:
Prof Maarten Kamper and Johannes Potgieter with the novel wind generator, each proudly displaying their certificate of recognition for their winning article.